Kids News - Articles for Grades 5-5

In 1953, Walt Disney hired some of the country's best talent to create an eight page prospectus to convince investors to finance a new kind of amusement park - Something that we now all know as 'The 'Happiest Place on Earth' or Disneyland. While many of the attractions that the team had envisioned, made it in some form or shape when the first park opened in Anaheim, California, on July 17th, 1955, there are a few that just remained on their wish list because they were either illegal or, just too radical....

Always wanted to experience what it would be like to live in a gravity-free world? Then you may want to check out the 'Mystery Spot' - a nondescript barn located in the redwood forests that lie on the outskirts of the picturesque city of in California. That's because short of flying, you will be able to experience almost everything astronauts do, without ever leaving earth....

Most artists aspire to create masterpieces that can be admired and collected by the elite few, who can afford them - not Gregory Kloehn. He focuses on art that can be lived in, by people who have no homes to call their own. The best part is, that each structure is built from recycled materials that the artist finds inside dumpsters....

The idea that the mighty crocodile which can shred its prey to pieces within minutes, would even glance at a vegetable let alone eat it, seems almost insulting. But don't tell that to the residents of the Nyanyana crocodile farm that lies on the shores of the world's largest artificial lake, Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba. They apparently are completely vegetarian....

A team of paleontologists in South America recently announced that they have found the remains of what may be the biggest dinosaur found yet. According to their estimates, the unnamed giant, a new species of the Titanosaur, weighed at least 77 tons, stood 65-feet high and measured 130-feet long, from head to tail. In contrast, the previous record holder, the Argentinosaurus, which stood a slightly taller 70-feet, is believed to have weighed just 70 tons and measured 115-feet in length....

The beautiful Northern Californian city of is known for many fun events. However, none are as wacky or as popular as the Bay to Breakers, a 12K (7.45 mile) road race that spans across the city. Started in 1912, as a way to bring some cheer to residents who were still recovering from the devastating 1906 , it is the oldest consecutively run annual footrace in the world....

An Egyptian man is inspiring millions of people around the world with his ping pong prowess. However it is not just his top-notch skills they are admiring, but also, the way he plays the game - By holding the paddle with his mouth, because Ibrahim Hamato happens to have no arms!...

Scientists have often pondered over how the eight-armed octopus avoids getting tangled around itself. This mystery was particularly perplexing given that each tentacle is lined with hundreds of suckers that are strong enough to stick to almost anything. Also, unlike animals with rigid skeletons, the mollusks have no idea where their arms are at any given moment....

One of the most popular ways to demonstrate this year's severe US winter appeared to be tossing out a glass of boiling water and watching it freeze instantly, in mid-air. Of course, the reason the fun experiment impressed viewers is because nobody expects boiling water to turn to ice that quickly. Turns out that contrary to intuitive thinking, it actually solidifies faster than cold water! Why? That's a mystery still waiting to be solved....